Entertainment and gaming-centric publisher IGN has acquired brand partnership agency 1TwentyFour.
IGN said the acquisition grants brands access to its audience across 110 countries on over 35 platforms, including mobile, CTV and games consoles. The two companies will strengthen their service offering to clients by leveraging shared resources, according to the publisher. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The LA-based agency creates partnerships for studios, networks, gaming, publishing, mobile and streaming companies “to attract deep fan engagement”, IGN said in a statement. The pair are already working on a campaign for the release of horror survival game The Callisto Protocol.
1TwentyFour will operate as a standalone division, still led by co-founder Karl Stewart in his new role as Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at IGN. The position will see him develop brand partnerships for film, TV, gaming, automobile and technology clients across e-commerce, media, social and WEB3, the statement said.
“As the gaming, film and TV landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, marketing and media teams are eager to develop groundbreaking and innovative campaigns designed to cut through the noise,” said Stewart. “Over the last few years, some of the most groundbreaking campaigns have been collaborations with the world’s biggest consumer brands.”
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IGN’s foray into advertising services is set to deploy the publisher’s consumer data and global reach for media brands looking to tap into digital-savvy audiences. 1TwentyFour counts Marvel Studios, Dell and Netflix among its client base, companies who appear to align with the publisher’s entertainment content.
Owned by Ziff Davis, Inc, IGN Entertainment publishes video content across YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat Discover. It claims to have “an extremely engaged audience, watching over 400 minutes of content monthly.”
“Our combined vision is for 1TwentyFour to continue supporting and growing their current portfolio with full access to our reach and data while also bringing their services into the mix across the entire IGN portfolio to support the ongoing growth of the business,” said Yael Prough, Executive Vice President and General Manager at IGN.
The companies are aiming to run campaigns across traditional media and “evolving” areas such as WEB3 and the Metaverse. This is said to use a measurement standard that compliments traditional tracking and ratings, though the agency avoids specifics on what that measurement looks like.
“Our vision is to couple IGN’s proprietary consumer data and consumer reach, alongside our passion for storytelling and matchmaking to help brands and studios align on developing meaningful, targeted and results-oriented campaigns,” said 1TwentyFour’s Karl Stewart.
